Australia Awards

The Australia Awards are long-term training scholarships open to students from countries with which Australia has a development partnership.

There are three kinds of Australia Award:

Australia Awards Scholarships

Australia Awards Pacific Scholarships

Australia Awards Fellowships

The University of Sydney has a contract with the Australian Government to administer the Australia Awards Scholarships. Our Australia Awards Unit manages this contract and monitors and assists our Australia Awards students on campus.

Australia Awards Scholarships are a highly valued form of development cooperation between Australia and partner countries with which Australia has a bilateral aid program.

This program gives partner countries the opportunity to strengthen their human resource capacity by offering scholarships to people within key institutions to undertake tertiary studies in Australia in areas relevant to the country's development needs.

Scholarships are primarily for postgraduate study. However, a limited number of undergraduate scholarships are available in specific countries. Applicants need to satisfy both the general eligibility criteria and specific criteria established for each country.

Australia Awards Fellowships aim to develop leadership, address priority regional development issues, and build partnerships and links between Australian organisations and their partner organisations in developing countries in these regions:

Asia-Pacific

Latin America

Caribbean

Africa

Middle East

Australia Awards Fellowships do not lead to academic qualifications. Instead, they are designed to provide short-term opportunities for study, research and professional attachment programs in Australia, delivered by Australian organisations, to nominated fellows from eligible countries.

Australia Awards Scholarships – the details

You will receive a one-off establishment allowance of $5000 paid by the University at the beginning of your training. This allowance is for setting up your long-term accommodation and other initial expenses.

Your stipend is a Contribution to Living Expenses allowance, paid directly into your bank account each fortnight. This is arranged by International Services.

Your Overseas Student Health Cover is paid by the University. Australia Awards will not reimburse any additional medical expenses that are not covered by this insurance.

All costs related to course fees and the overall scholarship are calculated at the time of offer.

Australia Awards will not generally consider any additional costs unless they are a compulsory part of the course structure and a requirement of the course.

Costs you need to cover

You will need to pay for:

travel associated with fieldwork within Australia

travel to fieldtrips outside Australia, unless this is a mandatory part of your course

any other travel

conferences

thesis printing and binding

vaccinations required for clinical placements (however, part of the cost may be covered by your overseas health insurance).

Attendance

Your Australia Award scholarship is dependent upon your continued attendance at and participation in your elected course of study. You are required to enrol in the maximum full-time load, which is 24 credit points per semester.

If you want to reduce this workload, you need to seek prior approval from the Australia Awards Unit Coordinator.

Regular communication

You need to maintain good communications with the University, particularly International Services, Counselling and Psychological Services, your faculty and academic supervisor.

We use your University of Sydney email address to send you official correspondence about your scholarship, study program and other associated matters, so we ask you to check this address regularly through MyUni.

If you are having a problem, please discuss it with the appropriate contact as soon as possible so that assistance or advice can be provided in a timely fashion.

Up-to-date contact details

If you change your address or telephone number, you need to notify International Services immediately. To do this, update your contact details through the Sydney Student portal.

If you're an Australia Awards Scholarship student, you will also need to send a separate email to Ms Sue Sullivan at susan.sullivan@sydney.edu.au so that your stipend pay advice can be sent to your new address.

Credit / Exemptions / Waivers

If you are offered any form of credit, exemptions or waivers by your faculty, you need to inform the Australia Awards Unit Coordinator before you accept.

The University of Sydney will book temporary accommodation for all Australia Awards students.

To use this service you need to make a booking through the Australia Awards Post in your home country. If you are making your own arrangements and do not require temporary accommodation, please ensure you advise us at least five days before arrival.

You need to arrive two weeks before your Orientation, giving you plenty of time to find permanent accommodation. Most Australia Awards students find a place within this time.

Your pre-departure pack gives plenty of advice on finding accommodation in Sydney. You can also join the Australia Awards Unit’s online Facebook group to ask current students about options.

A dedicated International Student Housing Officer is employed at the University's Accommodation Service during peak times (January to mid- March and mid June to August) to help you.

It will prepare you for a return to studies (especially helpful if you've spent the past few years in the work force) and for study in the Australian tertiary environment.

Some sessions of this program are run by International Services and other service providers at the University. At these sessions we will give you important information about your scholarship conditions as well as support services available.

At both sessions you will have opportunities to network, meet new and continuing students, make new friends and participate in excursions and other social activities.

If you want to bring your family with you, please contact our Australia Awards Unit for advice. We can tell you what's involved and give you advice on how to apply for your family's visas.

Please note that Australia Awards and the University of Sydney strongly recommend that you wait at least three months before bringing your family to Australia. This gives you time to settle in to Sydney, find appropriate accommodation and adapt to your new study load.

Once your family arrives, they will rely heavily on you for support in their new environment and this may have an impact on your studies.

Childcare

There is high demand on childcare centres in Sydney – long waiting lists are common. If you are planning to put your pre-school age children in childcare, you need to apply to a childcare centre long before you arrive in Australia.

As Sydney is a top destination for migrants and their families, our schools are welcoming and well equipped to cater for the needs of students who have English as a second language.

School attendance for the dependents of Australia Awards students is free of charge. However, there may be some school-related costs you will need to cover, such as the purchase of school uniforms, books, special events and excursions.

As an Australia Awards student, you are granted limited work rights by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Your partner's work rights depend on the type of degree in which you are enrolled. For your partner to be allowed to work full time, you need to be enrolled in one of the following:

master's degree by coursework

master's degree by research

doctorate by research (PhD)

Neither you nor your partner will be eligible to start work until after you have commenced your main course of studies (your university program – this is usually early in March (Semester 1) or early August (Semester 2)).

If you are experiencing difficulties with your studies, inform the Australia Awards Unit as soon as possible. You should also discuss your situation with your supervisor or lecturer.

Various kinds of support are available.

Academic Assistance is available for students who are at risk of failing without additional academic support. Please contact the Australia Awards Unit Officer to request an application form. Approval is not automatic. It will be determined giving due consideration to all Australia Awards guidelines and policies.

Australia Awards research students may be able to access this funding for thesis editing.

Visit your faculty's website to check if there are any faculty support services you can access.

You may be able to take Summer or Winter School units of study to complete a previously failed unit, or lighten your study workload during semester. Contact the Australia Awards Unit to obtain permission. If successful, Australian Awards will pay your fees for the Summer or Winter School subjects you need to take.

You need to leave Australia at the end of your scholarship (on or before the end-date), regardless of any remaining period for which your visa is valid.

The Australia Awards Officer will contact you in your last semester of studies to arrange your return home travel by the most direct route on an economy flight. Stopovers are not permitted.

If you finish your training early, you need to inform us. The scholarship end date will be brought forward to coincide with the end of your training.

Restrictions on staying or returning to Australia

Australia Awards and the Australian Migration Regulations place restrictions on Australia Awards Scholarship students who seek to remain in Australia or seek to return to Australia on completion of their scholarship.

Restrictions may apply to permanent and temporary visa subclasses, and may include:

requiring Australia Awards approval

repaying any outstanding debt to the Australian Government (such as repaying the total cost of the scholarship); and

not re-entering Australia within two years of completion of the scholarship.

Important dates

Final semester

End date

Stipend end

Departure date

Semester 1 (coursework)

20 July

25 July

19 August *

Semester 1 (research)

31 August

5 September

30 September *

Semester 2 (coursework)

20 December

25 December

19 January *

Semester 2 (research)

31 March

5 April

30 April *

* or your visa end date, whichever comes first

Course end date: For coursework students, this is the date that university exam results are officially released (20 July or 20 December). For research students, it is the date you submit your thesis or treatise (31 March or 31 August).

Scholarship end date: This is 30 days after the course end date (19 August or 19 January for coursework students; 30 April or 30 September for research students), or your visa end date (whichever comes first).

Stipend end: Your stipend payments will finish five days after your course end date. The exception is if you depart Australia before this date, in which case your stipend payments will stop on the date you depart.